Leeds United will be crowned champions of the Championship if the EFL cancels the season and follows the precedent set by the governing body of rugby union. According to The Independent, the RFU will use a “best playing record formula” to determine promotion and relegation. The news comes two weeks after they cancelled the rugby season.
Leeds United Will Be Promoted if the EFL Follows the RFU
How the Formula Works
Instead of calculating final positions purely on a points per game basis, the RFU will look at teams’ home points per game record and away points per game record, and apply them to all remaining fixtures.
All EFL Championship clubs have played 37 matches so far, and most teams have a similar amount of home and away games left. Therefore, the table wouldn’t be altered massively if the EFL decided to follow the RFU’s example. The situation is different in League One, as quite a few games have been postponed since the start of the season.
If the EFL are forced to cancel the season and they use this formula, the Whites will finish on 88.5 points. That figure would be rounded up to 89, enough to win the title by two points.
West Bromwich Albion would also earn promotion to the Premier League. They’d finish on 87 points (rounded up from 86.8) and Fulham would stay third – finishing on 79 points (79.2).
However, the EFL’s primary objective is still to complete the season whenever it is safe to do so. Professional football in England remains suspended until April 30th at the earliest.
Club Bruges Expected to be Crowned Belgian Champions
Earlier today, BBC Sport reported that the Belgian Pro League will become the first major European league to be cancelled amid the coronavirus crisis. As a result, table-toppers Club Bruges are set to be crowned Champions. Phillipe Clement’s side are 15 points clear of second-placed Gent with one game of the regular season left. A play-off system is then usually used to solve the top positions. It will be made official on 15th April, and a working group will decide upon promotion and relegation.
In a statement, the league said: “The board of directors unanimously decided that it was not desirable, whatever the scenario envisaged, to continue the competition after 30 June.”
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